is a Japanese

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

conductor. He was born and raised in the city of

Matsusaka is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 157,235 in 66,018 households and a population density of 250 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is famous for Matsusaka beef. Geography ...

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefectur ...

, Japan, and graduated from the School of Education at Mie University. In 1992, he founded the Tsu Ensemble Chorus, officially known as "Vocal Ensemble 《EST》", which he still conducts. He also conducts the Yachimata Choir and, on occasion, the

Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus (KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture, the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC). Tod ...

Choir. He specializes in church choir music from

European Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and has received numerous awards for his work both in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and his native Japan. In 2007 he was included in the book "Who's Who in Choral Music". When not conducting, Masao Mukai teaches high school Math. In recent years he taught at Ujiyamada High School in the city of

Ise Ise may refer to: Places * Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria *Ise, Norway, a village in Norway *Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan * River Ise, a tributary of th ...

, Mie Prefecture where, as conductor of the chorus club, he led the school to numerous appearances in the final chorus competition at the national level and won first place twice. He now teaches at Matsusaka Technical High School. He also occasionally gives lectures and acts as a judge at choral competitions.

Awards

* The Conductor's Prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary work at the 7th

International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf The International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf is a competition for chamber choirs held every two years in Marktoberdorf, near Munich in southern Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country i ...

, Germany (2001) * Gold Medal (ten times) at the Takarazuka International Chamber Chorus Contest * Gold Medal (four times) at the All Japan Choral Competition.

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukai, Masao Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century births 21st-century conductors (music) Japanese choral conductors Japanese male conductors (music) Living people Musicians from Mie Prefecture People from Matsusaka, Mie